A biting wind came down from the north of the City of BriarThorn. Those who remained of the City’s inhabitants recognized the signs of the coming autumn and the harsh winter. The birds were already gone from the City, the leaves were beginning to turn shades of orange, and the ivy was starting to flower.
It was unfortunate timing, given everything the City had been through recently. Many were now homeless from the invasion of Golems from under the City, and more were jobless with the devastation of their businesses. Those who still had their lives and jobs intact were attempting to get everything back to continue applying their trade. Craftsmen were particularly helpful in the rebuilding effort, especially those in the construction business. It was the kind of community work that was expected and paid back over the years to come.
But one resident was not happy with his fortune. Kechtoff Morsk was a baker by profession, and somehow, he had gotten luckier than most in the City. His home had a large hole in one of the walls, his family had only suffered minor injuries, and his business was still standing. That last one was technically true, but he still needed to learn what the inside of the Bakery looked like. Thick roots, brambles, and thorns that were as sharp as swords thrust out, blocking the main entrance to the building.
Kechtoff attempted to carefully burn some of the plant life with a torch with little success; the wood did not even smoke, seeming resistant to the flames. The man cursed under his breath as he watched his son attempt to cut some of the roots away with a saw. Even his wife was trying to help, using any straight enough debris to try and pry any of the brambles away to allow them entrance.
They had been at this since the night before, only stopping to eat and sleep, then they returned to work. All three were avoiding the sounds they heard inside the Bakery, cackling laughter, cooing voices, and what sounded like an ax cutting wood.
“Kechtoff, I don’t think this is working. These roots and branches are something unnatural,” the Baker’s wife said, cringing a little as she looked at the nearest sword-like thorn. “Do you think it is something those Golems snuck in here? Maybe some wood for some newer golem type?”
Kechtoff sighed and grumbled under his breath for a second before answering his wife. “I very much doubt it. First, the Golem Master is dead, so he will not be creating more Golems, so whether they are wooden or otherwise does not seem to matter. Second, Wood Golems would be very fragile due to their wooden frame. And lastly-”
“Golems cannot use nature magic, and this must be the work of a Druid Class of some kind, and a powerful one as well,” said a rather attractive looking Elfin woman that led a strange look precession up to his Bakery.
First, there was an Elf Woman with short icy-white blonde hair, wore turquoise and grayscale furs, and had a strange hooked polearm strapped to her back. She was hanging onto a human man’s arm, wearing a black leather jacket, plain dark pants, and a sheathed sword on his hip.
Nearby was a young Elfin woman who looked uncomfortable in her skin, a bare-chested man in thick leather pants and boots, and a massive sumo with tribal designs on the belt of his white mawashi. Along with them but further back was a brown-robed gnome woman with a wide grin.
The man being held by the elf looked at the wood-based hazards that blocked off the Bakery and whistled appreciated. “Well, that is interesting; it wasn’t like the last time I was here. Hey, any chance you can get us inside-” the man started before being interrupted. Some of the thorned roots moved away like snakes sliding away from the intact door, with the entire process looking eerily like a living organism.
Kechtoff was stunned at the door opening of its own volition, allowing entrance for anybody who wanted to enter. These newcomers did. All of them walked through the door while talking amongst themselves. It only took a moment for them to come onto the scene and another for them to disappear. While Kechtoff could not tell if they had opened the way inside, he tried to capitalize on the opening to go inside.
But he failed, the roots sliding and twisting back into their place, blocking his entrance inside the Bakery. Kechtoff slammed a single impotent fist into the roots with another raised above his head in a curse. “Let me inside! This Bakery is mine!”
All around the unfortunate business owner were spectators who watched while they had their morning drinks. And all of them thought one thing, disappointed in the stereotype. ‘Outworlders.”
“May I ask who this is?” Kore asked, gesturing to McKenna. The female Goblin was almost five feet tall, had short red hair that curled slightly around her sharp ears, and pale green skin that contrasted with her earnest yellow eyes. She wore a green toga-like dress with a cut up the middle to her waist that revealed dark leather pants that she was wearing underneath. But unlike when they saw the Goblin last, now she had various plants wrapped around her arms and waist—one of which Colin recognized as poison ivy and another as Deadly Nightshade.
“You don’t remember?” McKenna asked Kore. “You helped save me defeat a Golem mini-Boss outside the City wall recently. You were with Loki,” she prodded, attempting to help the Goblin remember her.
The Goblin woman rolled her eyes, “I remember that incident. You were supposed to die so that I did not owe the Forsaker a favor,” she pointed at McKenna with an accusing finger. “But that does not mean I learned who you are or why you are here now,” she said, a bit of a hiss in her voice. The brambles and plants in the room writhed a little in response to the she-goblin’s ire, the thorns lengthening and sharpening.
McKenna noticed the display of displeasure from the Goblin and had the intelligence to look a little nervous. Colin certainly wanted to avoid finding out how dangerous this deific Goblin could do to them.
After a moment of Kore glaring at his wife, Colin responded to the Goblin’s question with a little flare to diffuse the tension. He stood straight, clicked his heels, and bowed while dramatically waving an arm at McKenna. “This is my fearsome wife, Mckenna,” his action was so over the top by design that he was grinning like a fool.
McKenna turned her gaze to Colin, “why do you do this to me, why?” she asked, shaking her head but smiling all the same.
Colin shrugged, relaxing his posture, “I thought it was funny.”
Kore’s eyes narrowed at Colin, “Wife?” Kore said, a little lost in the word. “Why did you not say you were married when we last met, DevilWalker.”
He shrugged, “it did not come up.” Colin looked at his wife, smiling warmly, taking her hand, “we were separated for a while and I could not get to her. But I was lucky, and she found me instead.”
“Awww!” Milma Maggins, the Jedi-inspired Rogue/Warrior, cooed. “That is adorable; I just love this. McKendra, where can I find another model of your man?” she asked, tone implying that she was enjoying the moment. “Isn’t that sweet?” she asked Rielle, looking up at the Young Fey woman.
Rielle looked away from Milma and nodded at her statement.
“You were… separated, but you found each other?” Kore asked, her tone soft. She then snarled as she looked around the room, “I see, DevilWalker. I’m happy for you both, but there is a reason I came across the continent to find you. Where is Nox LightSnuffer?”
The Goblin in question came out of Colin’s shadow, walking around with his cane accompanying his steps. As always, the Goblin wore his black hooded leather long coat, black cotton-like trousers, slightly mottled gray tunic, and black leather boots. His hair was short, snow-white, and soft looking. His eyes were the same yellow as Kore’s, but they were slit like a cat but infinitely deeper. And when he spoke, his voice was a rough cockney, “I am here, Kore. Are the preparations comple-”
“Ah!” yelled Milma, drawing her ninjatō and moving into a fighting stance. Colin could not exactly blame the Gnome. Nox did appear out of nowhere and looked rather sinister. Especially with the way the shadows bent and the lights dimmed with his physical presence.
He attempted to move in and interpose himself between the Goblin and the Gnome, but he was too slow. Milma’s Speed Attribute was too high for him to stop; she moved towards Nox in a blur of movement, leaping into the air and bringing her sword down on Nox’s head. Her sword was glowing a pale blue as she brought the blade down with all her body weight.
But Nox was neither caught off guard nor too slow. The over-level one-hundred Dusk Alchemyst turned to look at the Gnome and grinned as her blade met something in midair. A single length of chain appeared in the air above Nox’s head, her strike barely causing it to flex. Then a pair of chains came out of thin air, one wrapping around her sword and the other down her sword arm, hanging her in midair while she struggled against the bindings.
“Gnome,” Kore said as if the word itself disgusted her. “Who let her in here?”
“I did,” McKenna said to the Goblin. She moved between the Goblin and Milma and quickly added, “Why does it matter?” she asked.
Nox looked at Milma, hanging from her single limb, and said, “Gnomes are the source of all the problems that we have to go and figure out. They opened a portal to Limbo, and the Goblin City-states have been fighting back the hordes of Limbo ever since. How long has it been now, Kore?”
“Around eight hundred years,” Kore answered, looking at the Gnome with daggers in her gaze.
“Let me down!” Milma yelled, still struggling against the binding.
Larry was laughing at the sight of the Gnome wiggling about like a hooked fish. “Ha! That’s good!”
“I am going to kill her,” Kore said, playing with a strand of the Deadly Nightshade and its berries. She twisted the stalk around one of her slightly clawed fingers as she thought about what Colin assumed were rather violent thoughts. Many of the thorns realigned themselves with Milma’s head and lengthened.
“No!” McKenna yelled, standing between the Gnome and the two Goblins. “She’s coming with us!”
“She is?” asked Kore.
“I am?” asked Milma.
“Ha, of course, she is!” laughed Larry, enjoying himself way too much.
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“I mean, if you want to,” McKenna said, looking back at the Gnome.
“I do. I do want to go. But what about the others?” she asked McKenna. “We traveled here, and I would feel weird leaving without saying goodbye.”
“No, absolutely not,” Kore objected, cutting them all off. “If she comes, the rest of Goblinkind will want her head for simply being a Gnome. No, no, no, it is not a good idea. Even if she is an Outworlder, no one will care as long as she looks like a Gnome.”
Nox looked at Milma, speaking to her directly, “if I let you down, will you try to kill me again?”
“No?” she asked, her statement sounding more like a question.
Nox shook his head and gestured at her. The chains vanished in a puff of smoke, and Milma was unceremoniously dropped to the floor. She landed on her feet, one of her skills assisting her in the landing as she immediately sheathed the blade to avoid anyone assuming she would attack. She raised her arms placatingly in front of her and backed up from the Goblins.
“See, Gnomes can be reasonable,” Nox said to Kore. “If she wishes to come, now she understands the risks. From what I understand, the Citizens of the Goblin City-states hate Gnomes with a passion that leads them to kill them on sight if any appear. Knowing that, do you still want to come?”
Everyone looked at Milma, who did not seem to mind the stares as she nodded her head, smiling. “I do want to go. No player has ever been to Goblin territories before; from what I know, there are only rumors that they exist.” After seeing his confusion, she looked at Colin and explained, “the only Goblins that Players have found were labeled as Feral Goblins.”
“Ah, I got it,” he said, gesturing for her to continue.
She said, “if you allowed it, I would love to go and see what the Goblin territories are like and find out what quests there are for us to do. But, is there any chance I can get the other members of my party to come with us?” Milma asked Kore, her tone apologetic.
“No,” she said stiffly. “We will be leaving now that they are here. So you can either come now or not, Little Gnome.”
Milma sighed, “Can I have a minute?” she asked, grabbing an Information Tablet from a pouch that was too small for such a device. Colin noticed that the device was similar to his but sized for the Gnome, but also that the pocket she drew it from was way too small for the device. Maybe it was a different type of dimensional storage than his backpack.
“You can have a minute,” Kore told her with a bit of a growl. “The doorway will take about that long to power up anyway.”
Milma nodded and turned away from the group, typing feverishly on the phone.
Kore turned to Colin. “DevilWalker, Is everyone here coming?”
Colin nodded at the Goblin, “yes, everyone here is-”
“Actually, Brother, I’m not going,” Paladin said, shaking his head sadly.
“What? why?” Rielle asked before Colin could, stepping up next to the giant man and looking at his face.
“Yeah, man. I thought you would want to go. You love the story stuff, right?” Colin said, turning to look at the Sumo face-to-face.
He shook his head, “I do want to go, but I have responsibilities back home that I have neglected to play with you. My Father needs my help around the reservation, my garden needs tending, and I don’t think I can return for at least a few days. I only returned online now to tell you I can’t come with you.”
“Paladin,” Rielle said, stepping up to the Sumo and looking at him. “I am going to miss you.”
The Sumo smiled, “Yeah, I am going to miss you too. All of you,” He took in a single breath. “Not that you need me anymore. You have McKenna coming, and I will see you again, trust me. I have Walker’s Information Tablet information, and eventually, I will message him, and we will see about meeting up.”
Colin could sense the power that Kore was moving. Looking, he observed her controlling the plants in the Bakery, the roots, and branches intertwining and braiding into a door frame. But within that structure, a power more profound than anything he had sensed to this point other than maybe Scylla herself was building. It was strange, the magic flowed through what she was making, but it seemed to bleed out into the World behind it. He was unsure what he was seeing but looked back to Paladin.
“I’m sorry to see you go, but I get it. I am the only one-”
A prompt appeared in front of Colin’s and everyone else’s faces, and Colin, in particular, froze.
People of Rosengard! Be not afraid of these trying times ahead of you. Ancient Horrors, Prophecy, Aberrant Gods, and the Demon Lord Candidates are coming to bear against the people of this World, but rejoice! For the Power of the Hero has been reignited in the heart of a Mortal. Though weak now, their power shall grow through the Hero’s Journey and stop the Evils of this World before the end. Even the Gods will pray for their success.
Colin could not help a little smile. When he had initially come to this World, before the insanity that got him stuck in this World, he came for excitement. Years ago, he thrived on violent combat in the Real World, but not for the killing. He thrived on the adrenaline of the fight itself, the conflict of two parties opposing each other. And the following prompt told him that this would be amazing.
As one of four Antagonists and Demon Lord Candidates on Rosengard, the Bearer of the Protagonist Class will be coming for you specifically, as is their duty. And the moment you look upon each other, you will know what the other is and have to face the other. Best of luck to you.
“Walker?” Rielle and Paladin asked the former, pointing at the empty air before her.
“Colin?” McKenna asked, her Elfin ears twitching. “Does this mean what I think it means?”
“I don’t kno-”
“Fuck, yes!” Larry hooted, throwing a fist into the air. “Finally, I show what I am made of against the Hero! Woo!” he cheered.
“Forget all of that!” Kore ordered. Her usually lovely voice was a whip crack to call their attention to her. “The Conflicts of Demons and Angels are not important now,” she pointed her finger at the doorway she had made. “What matters is this, what is in front of you. No need to count your Experience or Loot before the opportunity is in front of you,” the She-Goblin snarled.
She looked at Milma, no small amount of hate still lurking in her gaze. “The Portal is ready. Gnome, are you coming?” she asked harshly.
Milma nodded, “yeah, I- I am,” she said, a little nervous.
“Fine then, you know the risks,” she said looking at Nox. “Are you ready to see your Goddess?”
Nox let out a short breath in a huff of release humor, “No, I am not. I am not the same Goblin I used to be, Kore. My power, though still formidable, is much diminished. I do not believe that I am worthy to stand before her once again,” he admitted, his hands roaming nervously over the head of the cane he always conjured.
“I would not worry,” Kore said, giving him a sharp-toothed smile. “She has looked back at your time in her service, accomplishments, and company. And I would not be lying if I said she misses your company the most. You could have reincarnated as a Level One Goblin, and I think she would just be glad to see you again.”
“I doubt that,” Nox said, his smile softer and, somehow, wistful. “What are any of us to her greatness?” he gestured to all of them in the room. “But if she wills it, I will do anything, even if it is not in my power.”
“I would not worry,” Kore said, running a hand over the frame of the empty doorway. Its magic seemed to run rampant and wildly blasted out in a whoosh of air and verdant green light. Colin flinched away from the Portal, with everyone else in the room thinking that it was about to explode. Then Colin felt the magic fall into line, moving according to a will like a car being brought under control after a spin. Then Kore continued, having displayed her prowess. “I promise you, if she wanted you dead or to just use you, she would have sent me with orders.”
The verdant green light became a screen of power that slowly began to rotate. Particles and motes of energy could be seen within the now swirling vortex, the center of which became a single point of absolute black. And within that darkness was a single point of white, like a star in a sea of black.
“Indeed,” Nox said, gripping his cane tightly. He turned to face the vortex and said, “Well, onwards into the breach. Let none stop the march of our advance, nay the jaws of heaven nor the bleeding heavens may stop us if our cause is just. And what is more just than the work of my Goddess.”
And the Goblin walked forward, passing into the Portal that Kore made from her magic. There was a whoosh of displaced space as the magic enveloped Nox, and he disappeared from this side of the World.
Kore waited a moment, looking at the assembled group and waiting for one of them to step forward. After a few seconds, Colin stepped forward, McKenna’s hand in his. He wondered when he had taken it or, more likely, when she had taken his hand but dismissed it. Instead, he squeezed her hand a little in his, mindful not to hurt her with his increased Strength Attribute. “Ready?” he asked.
McKenna smiled back and squeezed his hand in return, but unlike him, she did not hold herself back. Colin’s knuckles popped, and he swore he heard bones rubbing together under her incredible force. “Of course, Dear.”
"Good luck, DevilWalker, Colin, I hope to see you again soon," Paladin said, smiling sadly as he said his good-bye.
“I hope so too,” Colin said as he nodded at the giant, and then broke into a run. Pulling both he and McKenna into the swirling green vortex and hoping the Goblin was not trying to kill them all.
He was sure the trip was only a minute long, but it seemed to stretch for hours. Colin could feel his body react to the Portal, which was unnerving. Unlike gate spells that bent space to bring you one step in one area and the next a continent away, portal spells were more uncomfortable. From what the Antagonist knew, portals were more like stepping through a door into a tunnel that stretched you infinitely small, then redeposited you correctly on the other side. It was uncomfortable because you could feel the pulling sensation as you travel, making it feel longer. Surprisingly, it was not painful, just disconcerting.
Your Knowledge: Magic Skill is now level 7. Your understanding, prompt information, and the Charisma bonus has increased by a small margin when magic or magical knowledge is involved.
But when Colin reappeared, McKenna was still holding his hand, and he smiled at her in the low light of the cavern as they reappeared.
“Soldiers!” barked a single gruff voice. “Hold that line!”
Colin looked around and found that they were undoubtedly in a cavern, much like they had summarized. But this one was covered in roots that broke through the walls, and Goblins were everywhere. Many surrounded the archway Colin and McKenna had just entered from, but many more were actively engaged elsewhere in the room.
“These are… Goblins?” McKenna breathed, smiling in astonishment as she looked around her.
Like Nox, these creatures were green-skinned, yellow-eyed, and short of stature. None appeared taller than a meter and a half, but that took nothing away. Everyone wore plate armor made from a layered plate mail, a sturdy-looking helmet, and brandished a weapon in one hand and a shield as tall as they were in the other.
Over a dozen Goblins stood around the archway with their spears drawn and aimed them at Nox, who stood before Colin and McKenna. They did not advance, but Colin could see one among them staring at them and thinking it through carefully.
There was a shriek from the other side of the room, around where the other Goblins were huddled. And in front of them, a creature that defied any sense was fighting the horde of armed Goblins.
The creature was a strange oily gray, its form catching the light in chaotic variations as it attacked. It had the torso of a human, the head of a lupine creature, four spindly spider legs coming out of each side of the torso, and a segmented tail coming out from where human legs would be. Its main body hung five meters in the air, and it looked big enough to eat a Goblin in a single bite. Even worse than its shape, the monster seemed to flow between the states of matter at a whim. It would move like a red-tinged wind in preparation for an attack, then swing its tail carrying a plasma discharge at the impact.
Colin had no idea how the Goblins were fighting the thing, and he had no idea how he would even attempt it. Its chaotic nature made it hard to see any attack landing true consistently enough.
“Great, I was hoping that she was lying when she said they were Limbo creatures,” Larry groaned, walking up behind Colin and McKenna.
“What is it?” Colin asked, watching the monster snap up a Goblin and sever a limb with a bite. He was even more amazed when that same Goblin rose again and defended an ally with his shield.
“A Limbocyte,” Larry said without amusement. “A creature formed by the single true conscious mind on Limbo’s formless and primordial ooze. These things have no will, none that Hell could tell. It is like the Golems we fought recently, in some ways. With no thought, a single objective, and enough intelligence to pull it off.”
“Oh my God,” cried Milma as she appeared from the Portal.
Every spear that was pointed at the group suddenly pointed at her. Then with words that sounded like they dripped with hate distilled with vinegar and venom, one Goblin announced, “Gnome!”